The second week of the Summer Sprint 2018 kicked off with a focus on sizing up the market and competition. David Lefer led the discussion and talked about the advantages of being smaller. It allows teams to move faster, the level of tolerance for risk is higher, and the importance of reputation is not as critical. Larger companies have shareholders that make it challenging to pivot and proceed with innovation, and can involve a lot of pressure and demanding partners. All the participating teams were able to relate to the discussion about size, since they are all starting off.
“Are you offering a unique experience that others can’t offer” asked Lefer. Several examples of disrupters were shared, including Airbnb (hotel chains), Uber/Lyft (NYC taxi & limousine commission), Amazon (Walmart, Barnes & Noble, Best Buy), and Netflix (Blockbuster). The consumers often look at which company has the better product. Airbnb focused on getting a deeper understanding of the market and customer base, and was able to build a better product.
Throughout the program, the teams have been asked to be more precise—understand the space that they are operating in and the decisions that they have to make. It is important to identify who specifically they are going after; who the specific target users are.
Three steps were outlined:
- Know your initial customer & value proposition
- Develop your understanding of the market
- Invest time and resources strategically
The importance of searching was emphasized, “Google is made for you” Lefer said. Another tip that was provided was to reach out to failed startups. These startups often blog, and it may useful to have chats with them and learn from their experiences.
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Top-Left: David Lefer, director of the innovation & technology forum and industry professor at NYU Tandon School of Engineering.
Top-Right: Merciless Motors: Nader Ahmed and Anna Eva Kotyza discussing physical and virtual channels.
Bottom-Left: Sabai Design: Phantila Phataraprasit and Cecily Waud presenting their work.
Bottom-Right: Govern for America: Octavia Abell and Kyleigh Russ describing their work.
The physical and virtual channels were discussed with the group. In order to determine the appropriate channel, teams explored how their customers like to buy and the nature of their business. For example, web distribution channels could include website, platform app store, aggregator, social commerce, and flash sales. Some of the physical channels could be Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), system integrator, value added reseller, direct sales force, web/online, dealers, distributors, and retailers.
The last part of the morning focused on team presentations. They provided an update on where they were with the interview process, their target customers, hypotheses, user journey map, and prototype.